Miniature horse attacked; owner wants answers

Friday

Dec 13, 2013 at 8:25 AM

ASHEBORO — On Dec. 1, a miniature horse named Munchkin was viciously attacked in its pasture on Red Cross Road in northern Randolph County. The injuries were so severe, the little horse had to be euthanized.

ASHEBORO — On Dec. 1, a miniature horse named Munchkin was viciously attacked in its pasture on Red Cross Road in northern Randolph County. The injuries were so severe, the little horse had to be euthanized.

MiMi Cooper, Randolph County health director, said Friday that after an intensive investigation, animal control officers have not been able to find evidence to name a responsible party and charge anyone in the attack.

Sandy White, Munchkin’s owner, cries when she talks about her pet.

"He was our baby, such a little love munchkin," she said in a telephone interview Friday night. "He would nuzzle my face when I asked for a hug."

White had Munchkin for over six years, from the time he was 18 months old. Full grown, he was 29 inches tall, the smallest of her five miniature horses. She still has four and a miniature mule. Munchkin was the smallest.

The horses, mule and a goat have two pastures and a barn on her property where she and her husband, Andrew, plan to build a house when she retires. Her son owns the adjoining property in front of the pastures and White lives two miles down the road.

Between 6:30-7 a.m. that Sunday morning on Dec. 1, White said she got a call from a Randolph County animal control officer that her mini-horse had been attacked. A neighbor had called 911 to report that dogs were attacking a mini-horse.

"Nothing anybody could do to me would hurt me more than hurting my animals," White said.

White posted pictures of the wounded Munchkin and it became a Facebook phenomenon. She has sympathy messages from over 1,000 people, animal rights groups are rallying behind her and she is accepting donations for a reward for information that leads to the identification of the dogs that killed Munchkin.

On Saturday, she will begin posting fliers asking for anyone who knows anything about the attack to please come forward.

White said she doesn’t know whether anyone has contributed or not, but hopes the offer will prompt anyone who saw or has heard anything will call her at (336) 521-0512.

MiMi Cooper also said she would like to talk with anyone who saw any animals in that area early that Sunday morning or who has any information. Her number is (336) 683-8235.

Animal control officers have talked with the family, with neighbors and the veterinarian who came to treat the mini, but "we just don’t have the evidence to support a charge," Cooper said. "People have opinions and theories, but without evidence, there is nothing we can do."

Cooper said the little horse was bleeding profusely, but neither the son’s dogs nor the neighbors’ dogs had any blood on them and they were not wet from being washed. Animal control has not heard of a pack of coyotes or feral dogs in that area.

White said the veterinarian told her that the wounds to the groin, underbelly and face were not characteristic of a wild animal attack.

White said either her husband, herself or her son checks on the horses at least six times a day. Her son has two dogs that have never been aggressive toward the horses, but other dogs that live on the same road have been aggressive, she said.

White said Munchkin was a therapy animal for children for several years and she was in the process of re-training him to visit nursing homes.

"You couldn’t imagine a sweeter, more gentle animal," she said. "My grandchildren, ages 3 and 4, played with him like he was a puppy."

For over 20 years, White and her husband were foster parents, until her husband became disabled. Some of the children were babies and stayed only a short time, but others are still in touch and their children call her "granny."

White can laugh when she talks about the children.

"I don’t even know how many children call me granny," she said. "I still play church ball and the name on my team shirt is ‘Granny.’ "

White said she plans to plant a tree at Munchkin’s grave site and put up a plaque in his memory. She is thinking of naming their farm "Munchkin Mountain."